A British pastor has called for more government action against the UK’s hunger crisis.

Stephen Sizer, pastor of the Christ Church of England, has told Press TV’s UK Desk that “the government needs to do more, but I suggest that needs to be done at the local level, where people live by those who have responsibility for them, local government, local council.”

Sizer also pointed to the underlying economic issues such as joblessness, noting that “the challenge is that in a climate of high unemployment and an economy that is not growing, an increasing number of people are finding themselves unable to cope and require assistance; hence the growth in the food banks.”

He also praised the food banks as “an amazing and a very compassionate way in which local communities can care for their poor, as a church we support our local food bank with staff and with weekly supplies.”

His comments come on the heels of an article by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby on The Daily Mail, where the top priest criticized the country’s hunger crisis as worse than that of Africa.

Welby spoke of seeing a family in a UK food bank, where “they were ashamed to be there. The dad talked miserably. He said they had each been skipping a day’s meals once a week in order to have more for the child, but then they needed new tyres for the car so they could get to work at night, and just could not make ends meet. So they had to come to a food bank.”

Press TV’s UK Desk contacted the press office of the Archbishop of Canterbury for further insight into the situation, but received the answer that “he is not intending to do any media interviews following the publication of the report.” by British media outlets.